HD T.V for Gaming(Ignorance).

jimbo118

jimbo118

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Our T.V went kaputt lastnight so we finally have an excuse to buy a new T.v, a HD one. I want to buy a decent one so I can enjoy my 360 in HD goodness but I know jack about HD. Can anyone recommend:

1) A good Brand? I heard Panasonic, Samsung and LG are pretty good.

2) What features I need to look for? 1080p, 1080i(I dunno really what the intracacies of the tech is tbh) etc?

I know its in the Gen Games forum but i'm not sure if it will get as many views in Hardware.
 
1) Samsung. Superior quality product and excellent output.

2) No idea.
 
Plasma or lcd? Personally I prefer plasma - especially for anything 42" and above and if you also plan on watching sd & hd movies - and would look at Panasonic and Pioneer. If you go for 1080p, which I think's a good call, get something that can display 1080p/24.
 
excuse my ignorance but I thought the 360 could only output to 720p? and even then it's up to the individual game ...is it upscaled to 720/1080?
 
Yeh, they're 720p native - to play 360 games at 1080p either the console or your display will be upscaling. The reason I suggest 1080p is for HD movies and because the newer sets with this res tend to have better contrast, blacks levels, colours etc.
 
ah ok that makes sense ..do games in 1080p look that much better than in 720 seeing as how it's upscaled?

heh I use my older crt tv for my 360 ..my lcd is in the living room with the original xbox hooked up to it so my son can play Justice league heroes ..the only time my 360 has seen higher resolutions was when it was hooked up to my pc monitor ..thinking of buying a lcd for the games room/basement but have to see what money needs to go into the house come spring and honestly I dont use my xbox360 all that much ..I play more on the xbox than I do the 360 lately
 
If anything games will look ever so slightly worse upscaled. You'd have to be quite anal and have a magnifying glass to notice, though :)
 
hmm so the sweet spot in performace/price is a 37" 720p lcd? at least for gaming ..really dont care about HD movies as I dont have a HD player and wont be getting one till there's a need to
 
I heard the only difference between the 1080i and 1080p is that 1080p has a faster refresh rate. I first played Orange Box on my 30 inch 1080i HDTV and it looked a little constrained (the crosshairs looks a little small, you know the crosshairs when Gordon doesn't have a HEV suit). I then played it on my uncle's Xbox 360 & 56 inch 1080p HDTV and I noticed an improvement.

As far as shows and stuff, to me watching standard definition channels on a HDTV looks like a VHS and it's all streched. Its terrible imo, but I've heard thats because your not supposed to be up close when watching a HDTV. Well, I have a habbit of being up close. :(
 
Don't forget to look into Sharps Aquos LCD series. They have ridiculously nice picture.
 
When buying a HD TV look for a couple of things. Firstly you'll want to check it's HD Ready which is usually represented by this exceedingly camp pink tick on a black background in the UK. This usually means your tv will also be digital and ready for the 'switch over' we are having.

Also, a no brainer, go LCD not plasma. Plasma tvs are being phased out because they leak the gas in the screen which makes them work, and LCDs are much better, if you look in shops these days, you'll find LCDs take up 95% of stock.

With the HD levels, most HD teles will be either 720 for around 23/26 inch or below sets, then from 32 inches and above they all support the 1080 levels, just make sure you check the specs. It's up to you what size tv you want, I don't believe you specified.

Lastly, makes. Samsung have very nice looking models out currently (with the glossy black), Sony and Panasonic models are all similar but very good too, so just shop around. LG are decent, but I'd always choose the other 3 over it. Just depends on your budget.

And...as a side thought, always nice to get one with inbuilt freeview for multi-purpose use. All HDTVs will obviously come with a HDMI port for your HD connectivity. Hope that helps.
 
Hectic Glenn said:
When buying a HD TV look for a couple of things. Firstly you'll want to check it's HD Ready which is usually represented by this exceedingly camp pink tick on a black background in the UK. This usually means your tv will also be digital and ready for the 'switch over' we are having.
Click to expand...

HD Ready won't support more than 720P, you'll need Full HD for 1080, and buying a HD Ready TV is really a waste nowadays.

Now, for the difference between 1080i and 1080p; 1080i only updates half the screen with each frame, making it easier for the console to render. 1080p updates the entire screen.
 
Cheers for the replies boys.

No not sure about size yet as i need to check the prices in the shops.

What i've gathered from the posts:

- good makes Panasonic, Samsung, Pioneer.
What abut Philips btw? Are they any good?
Click to expand...

- LCDs>Plasmas.
Although I heard that plasmas are better for anything above 32", any truth to this?
Click to expand...

- 1080P if you can afford it/want a big ass screen.
Whats 1080p/24?
Click to expand...

- Full HD> HD ready.
Whats the main difference?
Click to expand...

What about the T.V's native res? What should I be looking for?

Go for Widescreeen?

Thanks again.
 
Jimbo, just one thing avoid LG like the plague. The other suggestions are good, it just depends how much you are willing to spend.
 
Hectic Glenn said:
Also, a no brainer, go LCD not plasma. Plasma tvs are being phased out because they leak the gas in the screen which makes them work, and LCDs are much better, if you look in shops these days, you'll find LCDs take up 95% of stock.
Click to expand...

I couldn't disagree more and have yet to see any lcd that matches a decent plasma for standard and high definition viewing. This is the consensus on most av forums I frequent. Plasma > lcd (imo of course ;))

jimbo118 said:
Whats 1080p/24?
Click to expand...

1080p/24 is 1080p at 24 fps - which is the same as 35mm film you see at the cinema and how movies are encoded onto Blu-ray/HDDVD. Most modern 1080p sets will have a refresh rate a multiple of this - 48, 96 etc - which results in a nice smooth image when panning. Displays that don't support this will give a 1080p image, but procesed to 60 fps using something called 3:2 pulldown. This can result in a jerky image in pans. If you're going to the trouble of getting a future proof screen i'd go for one that has this feature.
 
Warbie said:
I

1080p/24 is 1080p at 24 fps - which is the same as 35mm film you see at the cinema and how movies are encoded onto Blu-ray/HDDVD. Most modern 1080p sets will have a refresh rate a multiple of this - 48, 96 etc - which results in a nice smooth image when panning. Displays that don't support this will give a 1080p image, but procesed to 60 fps using something called 3:2 pulldown. This can result in a jerky image in pans. If you're going to the trouble of getting a future proof screen i'd go for one that has this feature.
Click to expand...

So i should check the 1080p refresh rate when buying?

What about the one Gorgon posted? Does that support 1080p/24?
 
jimbo118 said:
So i should check the 1080p refresh rate when buying?
Click to expand...

It should say in the specification. Check out a few online and maybe google avs forum (US) or av forum (UK) and ask there. I'm not sure if that set supports 1080p/24, but people there will know.

What sort of price are you looking at btw? If I could have any tv it'd be a great big Pioneer plasma, but they cost a fair amount.
 
Warbie said:
It should say in the specification. Check out a few online and maybe google avs forum (US) or av forum (UK) and ask there. I'm not sure if that set supports 1080p/24, but people there will know.

What sort of price are you looking at btw? If I could have any tv it'd be a great big Pioneer plasma, but they cost a fair amount.
Click to expand...

Around 1,200 euro. I saw a few Pioneers today but they were like 2,400 euro :| Looked swank though.

The store I was in had mostly Philips, there was Full HD one for about 1,200 euro. Philips any use?
 
Plasma wise I stick to Panasonic and Pioneer - you can't go wrong. With lcds there seem to be plenty of decent models around - i've owned Toshiba, Samsung, Sony, my mum has a Philips. It's time to start annoying shop keepers by bringing in dvd/blu-ray players and consoles and trying them on as many tvs as you can. At the very least have a fiddle with the settings - they're always horribly calibrated in store - and ask to watch a dvd or something. Other than that, check some av forums for whatever the flavour of the month is for your budget. gl :)
 
Warbie said:
Plasma wise I stick to Panasonic and Pioneer - you can't go wrong. With lcds there seem to be plenty of decent models around - i've owned Toshiba, Samsung, Sony, my mum has a Philips. It's time to start annoying shop keepers by bringing in dvd/blu-ray players and consoles and trying them on as many tvs as you can. At the very least have a fiddle with the settings - they're always horribly calibrated in store - and ask to watch a dvd or something. Other than that, check some av forums for whatever the flavour of the month is for your budget. gl :)
Click to expand...

Ok I'll have a look and write back, whats a good Av forum?

Cheers.
 
I have a 24" monitor. It serves all jobs well. And it's schmexeh.

God, I love it

/bragging
 
i have one buy Winbook. Never heard of them but the tv was on sale for 400 dollars. So far it works great with 360 games.
 
CptStern said:
ah ok that makes sense ..do games in 1080p look that much better than in 720 seeing as how it's upscaled?
Click to expand...

Games look fairly good. The 360 has a special chip in it to upscale without much loss of quality.
Personally I like the Sony Bravia HDTVs, my brother has one and it's absolutely amazing.
It's a no brainer though to go with LCD, and make sure to get 1080p. If you're going to get an HD TV you might aswell save up and get a nice one; it's cheaper in a long run.
 
Bump.

So I'm thinking of going with this one: Samsung 40" LCD-TV LE40M87BD

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=333306

Can get it over here for just over a 1,000euro so thats about what I can afford atm.

There was a beautiful Bravia that was about 1,600 and had the true film 24p thingy but I don't think I can afford it.
 
Give some impressions if you do pick it the Samsung - it looks like a cracking tv :)

If you decide to go for something a bit more expensive, ditch the Bravia and check out 42" Pioneer Kuro. That's what i'd buy if I was in the market for a tv today.
 
Warbie said:
Give some impressions if you do pick it the Samsung - it looks like a cracking tv :)

If you decide to go for something a bit more expensive, ditch the Bravia and check out 42" Pioneer Kuro. That's what i'd buy if I was in the market for a tv today.
Click to expand...

Yeah the store I went to had a special area for Pioneer's t.v's. They were ruddy nice tbh, fupping expensive mind...
 
Make sure you go for a tv with ultra high contrast ratio and the lowest dot pitch you can get too if you want a good picture.
 
All you need is http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/ you have a lot of reading ahead of you. If you do read it and look around that website you will get the best HDTV there is for your price range. I can guarantee that.
 
I so badly wish I could afford an HDTV.

I wonder how long it'll be before they start coming down in price enough to make them very affordable rather than being at the 1000 dollar average pretty much.
 
IchI said:
All you need is http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/ you have a lot of reading ahead of you. If you do read it and look around that website you will get the best HDTV there is for your price range. I can guarantee that.
Click to expand...

Cool site. I can only find a few reviews. I did the test and the one I was planning on getting came up first so it musn't be a bad tele but the site doesnt have a review for it, it has a review for the LE40M86BD which I guess is the older version as I plan to get the LE40M87BD
 
Ok atm the Sony w3000 series has come into the equation, it has the 1080/24p feature but I was wondering what exactly this is good for? F.e is it only a feature you need if you use BluRay?
 
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